


favors for the favored

by grains_of_saturn



Series: Valentine's-White Day 2017 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: High School, M/M, White Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14164731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grains_of_saturn/pseuds/grains_of_saturn
Summary: Prompto wants to make chocolates for Noctis, but isn't confident in his skills; there's only one person he can think of to ask for help from.





	favors for the favored

**Author's Note:**

> Who needs to post seasonal event fic on the actual _day_ of the event? be unpredictable! shake things up! Maybe one of these years I'll actually get to posting seasonal event fic on the day but 2017 was not that year. or 2018, evidently. What else was I gonna do, wait until 2019? So here it is now, like a year+two and a half weeks late, but better late than never. or something.

 

For all that students could work themselves up to a fever pitch about Valentine's Day, any onlooker might have found themselves surprised at how quickly things went back to normal afterwards. The days - the _weeks­_ \- leading up to the event itself held promise and potential, and that was either realized or it wasn't, but the 15th of the month was still a schoolday - and only the most disappointed would drag their feelings out across the rest of the academic week (and beyond).

Prompto hadn't thought about the possibility that the opposite was true, too. It was impossible not to be aware of Valentine's Day, but it was easy to build up dreams of it to almost mythical proportions; all of his considerations of it had been in abstract. _Wouldn't it be nice if--_. _It wouldn't, but--_. _What would happen--_.

Life went on and days passed as days did, but Prompto couldn't shake his distraction. Not that he would have wanted to, but it felt amazing to consider the extent to which he hadn't considered _this_. All of his _what if_ s had ended at the event itself; he'd never even thought to consider what would happen after, and as it turned out, that was the sweetest part. It would catch him by surprise, again and again - while brushing his teeth in the morning, during a silent moment in class, as he turned the lights off before going to bed.

_Noct gave you chocolates!_

_You got chocolates, for Valentine's Day!_

It wasn't only that, of course; that was the most visible and obvious part, and the easiest to understand. Noctis had said as much himself, confirming, there, that the chocolates were given as a sign of romantic interest. _Romantic!_ Prompto would still think of that and blush. If anybody had asked him his life plans at any past point, he was quite sure that _dating a prince_ would not have been the first, third, or thousandth thing to come to mind, and yet now here was a reality in which that seemed, suddenly, to be the case.

Again, the practical reality of it was something that was almost overwhelming, in those first few days. They would meet in the morning, as usual. They'd walk to school, they'd attend class, they'd eat their lunch together, they'd walk home together (at least until the route split). That was the same as it ever was, but for the charged nature of their interactions; it was impossible not to feel hyper-aware of every look that passed between them, each casual touch, and those more focused--. For all of the things it was possible for two people to do with one another, Prompto had never considered that touch between fingers could seem so _intense_. And it was so casual, otherwise! Just the smallest movement of one hand over the other, fingers touching, fingers _entwined_ \- Prompto found even the thought of it would take his breath away (and to consider it further would make it more concentrated, would make it all the more dizzying when they would be sat together on the roof of a lunchtime and _it would happen again_ \--).

All of those things were benefits that Prompto hadn't known to think to consider. There were, however, other things to think of; on a long-term level, _Noct is the Prince. One day he'll be King. Is that... okay? All of this, is that... still okay?_ Those concerns lurked at the back of Prompto's mind, but it felt too soon to address them. _Not even a month, yet! That's definitely too soon._

More pressing, and _much_ more immediate, was the issue of White Day. Falling a month after Valentine's Day, the school would still ripple with excitement for it - but it was a reactive event, and one that Prompto, at least, had not really considered before that particular year. It was when those who had received chocolates gave back in return - and he'd never experienced the former, and so hadn't had to think about the latter. The adverts around the city picked up where Valentine's Day had left off, almost immediately - but it was maybe a week later that Prompto found himself looking in the direction of one of those shops, banners and boards outside advertising their wares for the event, realizing that time was passing, and _quickly_.

_Is... Noct expecting something in return? That's... what you do on White Day, isn't it?... I should do something for it. If he's expecting something for it, and I don't, that would be pretty terrible. If he's not expecting it, that would be even better!_

It had been easy, while Valentine's Day was the focus, to think of it as some lofty future event. _Do something for White Day! It'll be fun! You'll work something out!_ But time had a habit of passing, and a month was not long. It was with a little over a week to go that Prompto realized he'd been procrastinating, and that nothing would happen if he didn't sit down and plan it properly. The lack of time left was maybe a problem, but that would only become more pressing as he spent time worrying about having not come up with anything definite; he had to come up with something, and he had to come up with it _now_. There was maybe little that could be done in the evening - it was probably not advisable to go out on a city-wide ingredients hunt when there was still school in the morning to consider - but that didn't mean that he couldn't put a framework into place. It was late, but Noctis still picked up the phone, and that was the most important thing.

"Hey, Noct! You still awake?"

"Uh, yeah, just about. It's pretty late, though. Did you need something?"

Prompto dug fingers into the cushions on his couch as his mind raced to phrase the question; Noctis had even been so good as to ask the perfect question, it just meant _saying it_.

"Um--... maybe this is weird, I don't know, uh, but..."

"What is it?"

"Could you, uh... would it be okay if you gave me Ignis's number?" There was a silence on the other end of the line, long enough for Prompto to feel that hot spike of uncertainty. "Noct?"

"Uh, sure, I guess? ...What did you want it for?"

"Oh, ah, haha... you know, just--... I thought it might be, like, useful, like, um... just in case, you know!"

"I don't really get it, but sure. ...Are you gonna phone him?"

"Maybe, maybe not! But it just seems like a good idea to have it! Right?"

Prompto wrote down the number that Noctis told him, checking and double-checking it for mistakes. That part of the plan went easier than Prompto had expected; Noctis didn't seem to understand why Prompto would want that number, but didn't seem to have any particular arguments as to why he shouldn't have it, either. Prompto tried to play it down as much as he could, thanked Noctis, and rang off for the night; that left him staring at Ignis's number, wondering what could be done with it. _Maybe phone him right now? Strike while the iron's hot--!_ It was still late, though, and only getting later by the minute. What would Ignis even be doing at that time? Did he sleep early, or would he be up late taking care of... royal things? The only things Prompto knew of Ignis's duties were the things he heard directly from Noctis himself. He gave the impression of being strict, and maybe a little scary; thinking that over, the thought of calling him at all seemed difficult. Maybe it was best not to--

Dialing the number before he could talk himself out of it, Prompto sat up straight on the edge of the couch cushion, the hand not holding his phone clenched to a tight fist against his thigh. Every unanswered ring transmitted to him felt almost unbearable. Would he pick up? Would he not? Would he be asleep? Would he be annoyed? Each passing second caused those thoughts to grow and multiply; Prompto tried to rein them in, _it'll be fine. It'll be fine._

The rings cancelled with a _click_ , and Prompto thought for a moment that he'd been cut off--... but the tone of the silence didn't sound like that. Was that movement, somewhere on the other end of the line? He swallowed quickly, still feeling nervous. "H-hello...?"

"How did you get this number?"

"Uh, it's--... it's Prompto here, um, Prompto Argentum? Noct's friend? Uh--... uh, Noctis, that is, um--..."

"... I see. I presume he was the one to give you this number?"

"Y-yeah--..."

"I'll have to impress upon him the importance of not being too free and easy with telephone numbers. Honestly..." (Was that a sigh?) "... Is there a reason for your call at this time, or is this 'pranking'?"

"N-no, um--... I mean, yes, yes I had a reason, no it's not pranking, um--... I--..." Suddenly, the reason for calling felt hopelessly trivial. Ignis was clearly a busy and important person, and Prompto felt very aware that, at the very least, his call was something of a nuisance. Let alone anything _else_ he'd wanted to ask...! However, it was too late for that now; he knew that trying to pass it off as nothing would be equally as annoying, and so there was nothing left than to go for broke and _try_. If Ignis refused, then that was that, but Prompto knew he'd never know unless he asked.

"--... I want your help with cooking--!" Again, there was silence on the other end. Prompto glanced around his living room, as if there might be anything there that would make the call easier. "I-- I want--..."

"I heard you the first time. Is--... is there a reason as to why you would request, specifically, my help for this venture...?"

"It's--... it's for Noct. I, I wanted to make him something. And I thought you'd be the best person to ask for that, to make sure I didn't mess up! Uh... sorry if that's a bother, though. I know you're probably really busy and stuff. Um... it's okay if you can't, or you don't want to, or whatever. I just thought, like, who would be best to ask, and I couldn't think of anybody else, so, uh--..."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not. ...Fine. I understand that you have something of an unconventional home life. ...I suppose part of tending to the Prince is to keep an eye on his friends, also. Are you free tomorrow evening? It's too late to do anything this evening; you should really be asleep by now. You have school in the morning."

"That--... that's a 'yes', right?!"

"I am agreeing to your proposition, yes."

"Ah! Awesome! Thank you! Sorry for, um, for this. Thank you! Haha... _oh_ \--... um, also, would it, uh--... would it be okay if you, like... kept this secret from Noct? It's sorta--... it's a surprise. Kinda."

"... I shall treat the matter with the appropriate confidentiality."

 

\-----

 

Prompto tried to act naturally, that following day, but knew that his nervousness was unhelpfully obvious. Noctis was as he usually was; he asked, Prompto deflected it, Noctis didn't ask any further. If it continued for much longer, Prompto suspected that Noctis might ask again, but it was only for that day - by the time the evening came, he'd have met with Ignis, and so wouldn't have to be nervous about _that_ part anymore. And maybe Ignis would be able to give enough advice that he wouldn't have to feel nervous for White Day, and then maybe everything would be _fine_. ( _Maybe._ )

On getting home, Prompto told himself to try to relax; however, he still found himself pacing up and down, trying not to jump at any noise from outside that could possibly signify the arrival of a visitor. It was a fairly quiet corner of the city, but the time of day meant that the approach of vehicles was not unusual. However, one came, eventually, which sounded closer than the rest; pulling up close to the house and-- to the parking space attached to the house, which usually lay untroubled by such things. _That has to be Ignis._ (Sure enough, the sound of a car door closing was soon followed by a confident knock at the door.)

"... I trust that this isn't an inconvenient time?"

Ignis seemed so _smooth_ and so _cool_ that Prompto wasn't really sure how to react, waving his hands around in an attempt to minimize the implication. "N-no, I, I mean, I could say the same to you, I mean, I hope this isn't an inconvenience for you to come here or anything, haha, ah--..."

"Then, shall we make our way through?"

Prompto realized he was standing in the way; he made a noise of surprise and stood to the side, gesturing through to the living area. "Right! Right, yes, um, just, uh, through here..." The way was obvious and Prompto was clearly flustered, but Ignis just quietly followed. He pulled one of the dining table chairs out, "Uh--... here--..."

"Thank you, Prompto." Ignis accepted the chair and sat at the table, placing his bag down beside him on the floor. (Prompto stepped around to the other side, taking up the chair opposite.) "So, there was a favor you required...?"

"Y-yeah. Um--..." It still felt like a hopelessly trivial matter. "So, since Noct got me chocolates last month--"

"He did what?"

Ignis's voice was as level as it ever was, but it suddenly struck Prompto - did Ignis _know_ about that? Maybe Noctis hadn't told him. Maybe Noctis hadn't told anybody. Was it okay to tell someone? Was it a _secret_? Things had not progressed yet to the level of being too physically obvious, but Prompto knew keenly the sort of whispers that would go around the school - and beyond? - were they to be too careless. For as much as Noctis had a reputation for being somewhat cold and reticent amongst the student population, it would still make some _excellent_ gossip if it were to turn out that he was _dating somebody--!_ Prompto knew that. He assumed Noctis knew that, too. _Does he, though...?_ Ignis, likely, knew that more than anybody - if he knew the situation to begin with. The sudden realization that it was even possible that he _didn't_ stopped Prompto in his tracks.

"Uh--..."

"That would be... Valentine's Day, wouldn't it?" He seemed to take a moment to consider this, gathering enough answers from Prompto's silence. "I wasn't informed."

"I, I mean, I didn't--... I didn't know he was going to do it either--! It, it was pretty surprising, haha... um--... that's not--... a _problem_ , is it...?"

"It's a possibility I hadn't considered, I'll admit that much."

"Uh--... you won't--... you won't _tell anybody_ , will you? I just--... if you didn't know, then, I guess Noct didn't tell you... and if people found out, then maybe that would be a problem... like, at school? People would definitely get super-into it, and I think that would be kind of annoying. ...He was telling me about past Valentine's Days, and all the chocolates he used to get, and that he wasn't allowed them, and what if someone found out that _he_ gave _someone else_ Valentine's Day chocolates?! There's definitely people who would get mad about that. So, uh, I didn't tell anybody, and I guess he didn't either? But maybe you have to tell other people, because that's your duty, I don't know..."

"Anything discussed will surely be in confidence of the palace, at least. ...But avoiding rumors at school is somewhat beyond our capability." Ignis sighed gently. "There's always things to consider. However: you called me here for a reason, and I imagine that reason isn't just regarding your social concerns. Regarding culinary matters, and in response to Valentine's Day... I believe White Day follows shortly, does it not? So you're looking to make something in return. Am I correct?"

Perhaps it wasn't a difficult conclusion to land upon, but Prompto still found himself impressed at how quickly Ignis could get to the point. He nodded, still not quite sure what to say. "R-right, yes, that's--... you got it."

"Am I correct in assuming that there are some certain implications for White Day? As far as I am aware, there is a subtext that the gift given should be worth more than that originally received. Is that correct?"

Prompto leant his chin against the palm of his hand, nudging one finger against the smooth of the table. "I guess there's something like that. That's more like--... I don't know, I'm sure there's some whole thing of giving chocolates and getting jewelry or a holiday or something, but that's--... I think people at school are pretty happy just getting chocolate back. A-and I want to make it by hand! So that's kind of like that, isn't it? Everyone's always so excited at the thought of hand-made chocolate."

"I see." Ignis folded his arms, nodding to himself. "No, I understand. This is a common occurrence within your peer group."

"Didn't they do that sort of thing at your school?" Prompto attempted a smile.

"My education was managed by the palace. ...Such things are covered as a matter of etiquette, but in the sense that one might experience such things directly... there wasn't that opportunity."

"Oh, uh--... right..." The thought that _both of us are here right now and I guess neither of us really know what we're doing?_ ran through Prompto's head; he wasn't sure he'd really entertained the prospect, from all the things that Noctis had ever told him, that there might be a situation in which Ignis _wouldn't_ know what to do. He glanced down at his hands and then back up at Ignis. "Uh... so it's okay to ask you, right?"

"Hm?"

"About making chocolates. I don't... really know what I'm doing, and I wanted to make sure I got it right. Or as right as possible! But, uh, if that's not--... like, uh... I know you're, like, busy and stuff..."

Ignis was silent for what was only likely a couple of seconds, but still felt interminably long to Prompto. He seemed to relax, however, having reached some conclusion. "Not so busy that I cannot aid with this. Have you got the ingredients ready?"

"Um... not yet. I haven't gone shopping yet...! I didn't want to get the wrong thing, or like, get something that Noct was allergic to, or didn't like, or... something like that."

"You couldn't ask him these things yourself?"

Prompto stared at Ignis. "Of course not...! It's meant to be a surprise!"

"... I see. So this evening is something of a reconnaissance mission, then, I take it?"

"You've seen what all the stores are like at this time of year, haven't you? There's so much choice, I don't really know what to pick. I just want to make something good. You know?"

Ignis produced a notebook from his jacket pocket. "I understand."

 

\-----

 

Following that meeting with Ignis, Prompto had expected that they'd come to some sort of a plan, and then he would go and pick up the agreed-upon ingredients. For all of the forward planning, it was still just for chocolate - how hard could it be? It was certainly the best time of year to buy it. He'd since started watching internet videos, too - doing so led him to be quite conscious of the fact that Valentine's Day seemed to be for the _making_ of chocolates and White Day seemed to be for the _buying_ of chocolates, but he'd made his decision, and he was sticking with it. A tutorial was a tutorial, regardless of what the event was; at the most basic level, one could still achieve attractive results from melting down and reshaping chocolate. It was all about the presentation - and the _intent_ , of course.

To that end, Prompto had been somewhat surprised to answer his door to find Ignis there with what seemed to be several shopping bags-worth of - Prompto wasn't sure, exactly. He hadn't wanted to stare too obviously while Ignis was still stood at the front door, and so had let him in, more curious than anything. _He wouldn't have bought that much just for chocolates, would he?_ (As it turned out: he would.)

"You... really went all-out, huh."

Fastening an apron around his waist, Ignis was glancing around the kitchen area. He looked back when Prompto spoke, "How do you mean?"

The contents of the bags that he'd brought with him were now spread across Prompto's dining table. The presence of different kinds of chocolate (currently in bar form) came as little surprise, but the other items - ingredients, utensils, molds, decorations - were somewhat beyond what Prompto had been planning for. His assumption had been that they would agree on what to make, he'd buy what he needed, and they'd work from there. There had been the suggestion of shopping together, just to be sure; it seemed that Ignis had bypassed that step, and gone straight ahead by himself.

"There's so much stuff here...!"

"Well, I thought it would be good to keep our options open. You know, the internet has quite a lot of videos with good suggestions. I can send you the links, if you like?"

 _I don't think we've been watching the same videos at all._ "Uh... sure. So, um... what--... what sort of things did you have in mind?"

"To be honest? Since this _is_ Noct we're talking about, I think there is little chance of making anything he would particularly dislike - at least in this category. I can't say I've ever known him to have much issue when it comes to sweet things."

"Just vegetables, huh?"

"... Indeed. In any case - I was thinking that some truffle chocolates would be an easy enough start. Would you agree?"

"Truffles, huh? Well, if you think that's something we can do, I think that'd be pretty cool...!" The thought was simple enough, but Prompto found himself glancing over the extensive array of decorations Ignis had brought along. _Maybe it'll be fun to get creative._ _Maybe these are just the sorts of things you expect from chocolate if you're royalty?_

The process of putting together the chocolates to begin with went by with little incident, although Prompto quickly learnt the importance of melting chocolate properly - if it had been up to him then he was sure he would have gone straight to the microwave, rather than bothering with things such as _bowls_ and _hot water_. He recalled Noctis saying that he'd attempted to make chocolates, and that it hadn't gone well - maybe that was what had happened to him? It seemed the obvious route. The other thought that occurred, thinking back to that, was that Noctis had clearly not asked Ignis for help. _He didn't tell Ignis about this at all._

"... Thanks, Ignis, for bringing all this stuff over. I woulda been okay with going out shopping myself...!"

"That's quite alright. I simply thought it best for us to have a good selection of ingredients."

Prompto looked over the wrapper of one of the chocolate bars; _an expensive one._ "Yeah, you can say that again. ...I wasn't sure if--..."

"If...?"

"... It's just, Noct was telling me stuff about how, like... there were times in the past, lots of girls brought him chocolates. But it's like, a security risk? I mean... he actually got told they might have poisoned them...? That's kind of--... I mean, I _get_ it, it's just... you know?"

The two of them sat at the dining table, ingredients still strewn across the surface, waiting for the batch of chocolates to set. Ignis netted his fingers, thinking over Prompto's words before responding. "That was, certainly, a concern. For as much as King Regis was enthusiastic to allow Noct attendance at a school outside of the palace, there's... more that goes into that than is maybe immediately apparent. It would be nice to send him to school with no further thought, but... that, unfortunately, is not the world that we live in."

"I guess it is a pretty big deal, huh."

"That said, there are a number of reasons why it isn't wise to accept all offered gifts. The threat of sabotage... is perhaps minimal, one would hope, but still _present_. I suspect that to be a lesson that stuck in his mind." Ignis sighed. "Even beyond that, there is the simple fact that one person, regardless of their social status, cannot please everybody. Again, it would be nice if that were possible, but as it is, it simply is not. Would it really be so wise for him to juggle so many teenage feelings all at once? If he were to accept so many gifts - what then? Where does it end? Perhaps, too, it is important to retain a certain distance. In some things, at least. Would it be good for the reputation of the Crown for him to be known as some kind of playboy prince...?"

"I don't know if I can imagine Noct getting called something like that, honestly..."

"You might be right. My point is only that a condition of him attending your school is, very generally, an awareness of such things. Balance, distance, protocol... these are all things that one must consider, eventually. Be it on the level of the classroom or of the kingdom itself. The reasoning was given to Noct, but it would have been up to him to decide what to do with that."

Explained like that, Prompto could see the Crown's perspective on the issue - but could also understand Noctis's reaction, too. He wondered what he would have done, if that had been a situation he'd found himself in. There was still the small part of him that felt that that was quite a luxurious problem to have, but he'd seen Noctis's reaction first-hand to know that it was, indeed, a _problem_. ( _And yet he still gave you chocolates, right?_ )

"It's not--... _bad_ that he gave me chocolates... is it? Like... that's not, like... am I gonna get in trouble?"

Ignis simply blinked, not quite understanding the leaps of logic in Prompto's thought process. "I wouldn't have thought so. Again - that is a decision that Noct made. If there are any consequences, I trust that he should be able to deal with them."

"Not really sure that makes me feel any better, to be honest."

There came a slight pause; there was little that either Ignis nor Prompto could do to speed up the process of the chocolates solidifying in the fridge, and so all they could do was to wait for the final result. Ignis picked up one of the plastic canisters - one that happened to contain glittery star-shaped decorations. Prompto hadn't chosen to use them, so they remained sealed; Ignis turned it over in his hands, idly reading the back of the packaging. He didn't look to Prompto as he spoke. "So... you would say that an important part of this process is the reciprocation?"

"Uh..."

"Noct gave you chocolates; it seems to be important to you that you make them in return. Is that because that's just how things are, or..."

"I mean... it's polite, right? I guess, not just that, though. It's like--... it's not like you give someone chocolates just because you expect them in return or anything, but it's just like, you know... maybe Noct isn't expecting anything at all, but I'd still kinda feel bad if I just let White Day come and go, like... you said just then, 'process', right? It is a process. Even if he's a prince all used to fancy chocolate or whatever, I still gotta, like, do the same in return. Like, 'we're feeling the same thing'. If that makes sense? Like there's all those levels of chocolate, 'specially on Valentine's Day, like... if you got chocolate you'd be happy, but if someone gave you obligation chocolate and you saw them giving someone else handmade chocolate, that'd be kind of--... I mean, it'd depend on what your relationship was with that person, but there's all kinda that thing, as well. I know all the guys at school, at least, hold up handmade chocolates as being the _ultimate_ goal. Someone _makes_ chocolates for you? That's huge--! I dunno if I've seen many guys in my class making chocolates on White Day, though. I mean, I don't talk to many guys in my class either, so there's that. Whatever goes on between couples stays between couples, I guess."

Ignis got up from the table, then; Prompto looked at his watch. It seemed too early to remove the chocolates from the fridge, but it seemed that that wasn't Ignis's goal. Instead, he went to the ingredients across the table, and took some of the unused chocolate - dark chocolate, in that instance. "If I may, I should like to borrow your kitchen for another batch of chocolates. ...Just for my own experiments."

"Oh, uh, sure? Not like we're doing anything else while we're waiting for those other ones to finish. ...I know Noct says you cook a lot."

"He does? I suppose that might be true. Being able to cook for yourself is an important skill."

Prompto watched as Ignis selected ingredients for this second try; the range and amount that he'd brought with him made more sense if he was taking this as an opportunity to expand his own culinary crafting. Prompto felt somewhat better on realizing that; for all that Ignis had said that Noctis would likely accept anything if it was sweet, there had definitely been some things on the table that Prompto hadn't been sure about. Dark chocolate was bitter, wasn't it? Prompto knew it wasn't something he'd go for, and wasn't sure that Noctis would, either. Perhaps that was more to Ignis's taste? They'd used vanilla essence for the truffles that Prompto had made, after some deliberation on whether Noctis might prefer mint - there had been coffee essence in the bag also, but that had been left out of the equation. Prompto recalled Noctis saying that coffee seemed to be something that Ignis drank a lot, though, so again, that seemed to make sense.

Ignis had supervised Prompto as he'd mixed and melted and shaped his own chocolates, but he took to the hob by himself with the things he'd selected. Whatever it was he wanted to make, it definitely seemed like he had a plan in mind for them. The thought occurred: _are these just for his own experiments, or...?_

"So, Ignis. You get many chocolates yourself this year?" Prompto asked without really thinking much of it. Ignis was, after all, so _cool_ \- he seemed like exactly the type of person, to Prompto's mind, who would get a lot of attention during the Valentine's season. There was something in the way that Ignis seemed to stiffen slightly, on being asked, that made Prompto suddenly worry he'd made a mistake. _Maybe he didn't get any!?_

"That's--..."

"It's none of my business--! Sorry, I shouldn't have asked...!" _It's totally fine just to make chocolates for the sake of making chocolates. Who needs an excuse to make chocolates?! He brought all this stuff, so he can do whatever he wants with it all._ (Ignis seemed to hesitate for a moment, but made no move to reprimand Prompto for his question; for that, Prompto was happy enough to let the matter drop.)

 

\-----

 

Once more, going to the game centre and then the riverbank seemed to afford Noctis and Prompto enough time that most school stragglers had since made their way home; if there was anybody likely to spy on their interactions, it seemed unlikely that they would come out as far as Prompto's home neighborhood. Passers-by would think little of uniform-clad students by the river, after school - and yet, Prompto still glanced behind and around before opening his bag and producing the chocolates he'd been carrying around for the day up to that point. He'd spent the day hyper-aware of his bag - best not to leave it where the sun could hit it, because what if the chocolates melted!? Best not to leave it where somebody could walk into it, because what if the chocolates got damaged!? For all that the advent of White Day held less fanfare within the school than Valentine's Day had done, it had still brought its own unique stress factors.

The chocolates remained undamaged, however, and so Prompto got to enjoy the subtle-but-definite way that Noctis's expression changed on realizing what he was being given. As well as the edible ingredients, Ignis had also brought along a selection of boxes and papers for wrapping - and Prompto had been quite happy to receive tutelage in that area. Ignis made wrapping gifts look so easy...!

"This is--... for me?"

"Wouldn't be giving it to you if it wasn't, would I?"

"You didn't have to...!" Noctis unwrapped the paper carefully, seemingly amazed by the object in his hands. "I, I mean, I'm glad that you did...! Thank you, Prompto."

"They're probably, like, not as good as shop-bought ones, but I tried my hardest!... I say that, I kinda got a lot of help making them. Mighta asked Ignis about it. You're always talking about how good he is in the kitchen, so I thought he'd be the best person to ask! He sure knows a lot of fancy brands, though. Lots of, like, high-percent chocolate. Whatever that all means. I guess it means it's better. You know anything about that?"

"... Ignis helped you with these?"

"Is that a problem? ...It's kinda like cheating, isn't it. But there's all this stuff, like... all these things you gotta do just to melt chocolate. I didn't know about any of that! If it was just down to me I'd have burnt everything and it would have turned out awful. Thought I better raise my chances of actually creating something edible. Those chocolates you got me were so good, after all! You know what it's like at this time of year, though. Go into any shop and there's just too much choice! I didn't know what I was doing, so I thought, who would know best for something like this? Gotta be Ignis."

"And he... was okay with that?"

"He seemed pretty into it, yeah. He made a couple of different sorts. He's pretty good at making sweets! Anyway - you gonna eat those, or what? I want to know what you think...! They're my precious _hand-made chocolates,_ after all. And since Ignis was there, you can know for definite that they're safe to eat. I got all my bases covered."

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

"I thought of some of the things, at least...!"

The box itself had been wrapped with a delicate, thin paper, and then bound together with a navy blue ribbon. ' _Tasteful,_ ' Ignis had said. Inside, the box was separated into twelve individual chambers, each one of them holding one of the truffle chocolates; more had been made, but Prompto had been careful to select the twelve best-looking ones for the final result. He had suspected that Noctis wouldn't want anything too bitter - and Ignis had agreed - but they'd gone for a darker chocolate truffle centre, offset by the milk chocolate coating. With the amount of decorations they'd had to hand, it might have been tempting to go overboard, but marking each one with one of the small silver balls and star-shaped glitter pieces had seemed like enough. (There were plenty of photographs on Prompto's SD card, depicting both the process and its result - almost from every conceivable angle, under different lighting settings, trying to find the arrangement that captured them _just right._ Prompto decided that Noctis didn't need to know that part.)

"They almost look too good to eat."

"And then what are you gonna do with them!? I made these so you could eat them...! Do you want to deny the chocolates their _destiny_?"

"Okay, fine, fine--!" Noctis selected the chocolate in the top-left corner of the box, considering it for a moment before carefully biting off half of it. (Prompto watched him hawkishly as he did so, perhaps leaning in a little too close, his own expression somewhat nervous as he awaited the first sign of any response.) Noctis turned to face Prompto, then, nodding his approval. "They're really good...!" He looked back down at the eleven chocolates remaining. "You can... make stuff like this?"

"I guess now I can, yeah!" Prompto fell back against the grass, feeling content that his efforts had not been in vain. "It might not be the same as like, cooking a huge meal or something, but I feel like my skills probably leveled up. Guess I'm all set for next year! Unless I forget it all in the meantime." He rolled over slightly, reaching for his schoolbag. "I should probably write this stuff down, just to make sure."

"Maybe let me have a look at those notes afterwards. I've got to step up my game!"

"I didn't know this was a competition, now...!"

(They laughed at that, but Noctis went straight to Ignis at the first possible opportunity.)

 

\-----

 

"Were the results not satisfactory? I can think of little other reason why you're giving me _that_ look."

"You helped him...!"

"Because he asked me to. I saw little harm in the endeavor. Should I have refused him, is that what you're saying?"

"No, I just--..." Noctis sighed with frustration, throwing himself back against the corner of the couch. "They came out really well."

"I'm not sure that explanation matches your current demeanor."

"They came out really well, so I've got to do better next year--! I tried to make chocolates, they all turned out badly, so then I went and bought some. He was super-happy anyway so I _guess_ it's fine, but--... then he goes and makes chocolates like _that_ , and they're really _good_ \--..."

Ignis folded his arms, still trying to make sense of the reactions Noctis was giving him. "You want my help next year. Am I correct in thinking that?"

"What if he asks you again, though?"

"Would it be wrong to help both of you? Is that, somehow, forbidden?"

"I guess not..." Noctis then leant forward, determination in his eyes. "I've got to practice between now and then. It's almost a whole year away, right? That's got to be enough time. I'll make chocolates so good, he'll be speechless."

"... You pick such strange things to be enthusiastic about." Ignis gave a small sigh, but couldn't hide a smile. "Just let me know when you'd like to start."


End file.
